Ana Moura Releases Decca Debut

International songstress Ana Moura announces her fifth studio album and Decca debut, Desfado. She has emerged as one of Portugal's leading voices of traditional Fado (which means "fate") with her mesmerizing interpretations of her country's soulful answer to the blues. To coincide with the release, Moura will embark on a North American tour taking her through major cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Washington DC, Minneapolis and more, kicking off February 28th (see dates below).

Desfado shows Moura embracing the emotional folk music of her country while injecting her own pop sensibility. The 14-track album was co-produced by multiple Grammy-winner Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Madeleine Peyroux) and recorded at the famed Henson Recording Studio in Los Angeles. Desfado also features the legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock on "Dream of Fire" and quintessential saxophonist Tim Reis (Rolling Stones) on "Havemos De Acordar". To keep things fresh and modern, Moura wanted to collaborate with composers and musicians of her own generation as well as those outside of the Fado genre such as Virgem Suta, Miguel Araújo, Luísa Sobral, Pedro Abrunhosa and Manuel Cruz to name a few. She also worked with key players in the Fado world such as Ângelo Freire on Portuguese guitar and Pedro Soares on Fado viola. Other musicians featured on the album include David Piltch (Bob Dylan, k.d.lang) on double bass, Dean Parks (Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder) on guitar, Jay Bellerose (Aimee Man, Ani DiFranco) on percussion, Patrick Warren (Fiona Apple, Bruce Springsteen) on the keyboard and violinist Freddy Koella (Lhasa, Carla Bruni).

The album showcases three tracks in English including a vulnerable rendition of Joni Mitchell's "Case of You", "Dreams of Fire" featuring Herbie Hancock on Fender Rhodes electric piano and the achingly soulful "Thank You". Other stand-outs include the beautiful "Até ao Verão" written by Márcia, the smoldering "Amor Afoito" and the title-track which derives its name from one of two themes composed by Pedro da Silva Martins from the band Deolinda.